Study Date
by ficnic
Summary: High school senior Noah Mayer struggles with his grades - and his non-existent love life.


Disclaimer: I do not own anything ATWT does.

Notes: Written for the prompt _well, that was unpleasant_ from **jberri79**.

* * *

Noah Mayer grabbed his SAT prep book from the top shelf of his locker. There was little point in taking it home, though. No amount of studying seemed to help.

It wasn't that Noah was stupid. He never failed a class, consistently holding a thoroughly mediocre B-/C+ grade point average. The problem was, Noah could never seem to do better.

He knew his marks would never cut the mustard with Northwestern's film school. In an ocean of higher achieving and probably more talented fish, Noah stood little chance of gaining acceptance at the institution as anything other than a janitor. His only hope lay with finding some way to earn an impressive SAT mark.

In other words, he was screwed.

Sighing, Noah ran his free hand through his dark hair in frustration. He finally shoved the damn book into his backpack, as if it would suddenly prove useful on this night. He knew better, though. Noah slammed his locker door, prepared to head home for another pointless evening of studying.

"Hi, Noah."

Noah jumped in surprise. How Richard could still manage to startle him was a mystery, since the kid had been essentially stalking him for the better part of two weeks. Noah now realized the guy had been waiting behind the open locker door; it wasn't the first time.

"Hi, Richard," Noah returned, just managing to keep the irritation from his voice.

"So I was thinking, since we don't have much homework today, we should check out the new diner. I hear they have great milkshakes. I don't think I could drink a whole one myself, but I'm willing to share-"

"I can't," Noah suddenly interrupted, creeped out by the smaller teen's suggestive tone. "I have to study for the SAT."

"Aw, poor baby," Richard cooed. Moving in closer, he ran a finger down Noah's chest. "I'm happy to help you study. I don't like to brag, but I scored the highest of our class so far."

Of course, the only way Richard could've figured that out was to ask everyone who'd taken the test what they'd scored. No, not bragging at all, Noah thought. In an effort to put some distance between them, Noah stepped away - and was tripped up by another backpack lying on the floor behind him. As he toppled backwards, Noah wished he'd looked into the merits of a restraining order.

Expecting to hit the tile floor, Noah was surprised when his fall was halted by a pair of strong arms suddenly grasping his midsection from behind.

"Whoa, Mayer. Go easy on my books!"

Even without looking, Noah easily identified the teasing voice at his ear, the image of the boy forming in his mind. Dirty blonde hair, inquisitive eyes, perfect body - Luke Snyder. Otherwise known as the guy Noah would stalk if he was a creeper like Richard.

"Sorry," he mumbled, his pulse skyrocketing at the contact with Luke. Not wanting to betray himself, Noah fumbled to regain his balance and move away. In the process, he barrelled straight into Richard.

Richard happily wove his arms around Noah's torso, eliciting a decidedly unmasculine shriek from the taller boy. Noah hastily extricated himself and backed away, his cheeks heating as the initial embarrassment over his clutziness elevated to palpable humiliation. Would Luke think he and Richard were an item? Great. Just great.

Not that Noah thought he was in Luke's league. Luke Snyder was the most popular student at Oakdale High by a mile. He was a basketball star, student council president, editor of the school newspaper, prom king - and Noah's crush since fifth grade.

Still, like anyone who ever carried a torch, Noah did so because he held onto a sliver of hope, no matter how improbable, that his feelings could be returned. Noah was no exception. Knowing better didn't stop him from fantasizing about a life with Luke; graduating, going off to Northwestern, even working on Noah's first film together.

"So, about that study date," Richard began, striking horror in the pit of Noah's stomach. "My place, or yours?"

"Actually, mine," Luke interjected, shocking both Noah and Richard. "I'm sorry, Richard; I think you misunderstood. Noah's studying with me tonight."

Thankfully, it occurred to Noah to close his mouth when he sensed it was hanging open. He knew they had no such date planned. Hell, if an anvil dropped on Noah's head, he'd still never forget something like that.

Annoyingly, Richard was undeterred. "That's bullshit. You and Noah don't hang out. I know everyone he spends time with..." Richard trailed off, suddenly realizing he'd said too much.

"I guess you'd know. I'm sure Noah appreciates all the time you spend stalking him from his bushes."

At that, Richard's face turned red almost as quickly as his fist swung forward. Before Noah could even process what was happening to react, Luke sidestepped the punch, dispensing a solid shove that sent Richard careening to the floor. Furious, the fallen boy scrambled to get up, clearly intending retaliation.

However, a sudden realization of his lesser physical stature caused him to reconsider. Redirecting his attention back to Noah, Richard repeated his offer. "Let's lose the asshole and go to my place."

"No _thank you_," Noah answered, this time not bothering to mask the anger in his voice. The only thing that stopped him from returning the punch Richard threw at Luke was the certain knowledge it would result in his suspension. Instead, he relied upon the alibi Luke had offered. "I already have plans."

Richard was startled by Noah's tone. Though none of his repeated attempts to spend time with the other boy had panned out, Noah was always polite, and Richard had assumed the problem was Noah's shyness. Consequently, he'd believed his persistence would eventually pay dividends.

"Noah," he tried again, assuming Noah was upset by the brief scuffle. "I'm sorry I lost my cool. But don't let this douchebag mess with your head. He's not interested in you."

Noah's cheeks heated once again, mortified at Richard pointing out the obvious. Luke had never shown any interest in him apart from the usual friendly greeting he gave any classmate. "I didn't say he was," Noah sputtered, trying to salvage any shred of dignity he could.

"As a matter of fact," Luke offered, moving closer to drape his arms around Noah's neck. "He is interested. _Very_ interested." Before Noah could recover from the shock of that statement, Luke punctuated his point by gently pulling Noah in for a soft, chaste kiss.

Noah's body instantly warmed as his heart pounded so loudly, he could hear its rapidly increasing beat in his ears. Of their own volition, Noah's arms wove around Luke's waist as the liplock concluded. He might've stood staring at Luke forever, but Richard abrasively shattered the spell.

"If _that's_ what you're into," Richard sneered derisively, "don't come crying to me when it blows up in your face." With that, Noah's stalker turned on his heel and stormed off. After his departure, Luke suddenly dissolved into a fit of giggles.

"Well," he began, trying to catch his breath as he leaned on Noah for support. "_That_ was unpleasant."

Immediately, the bliss of their liplock disintegrated into devastation for Noah, who jerked away from the other boy. Luke had only been playing a game. That it had been to help Noah shake Richard didn't matter.

Noah had believed Luke's words... and especially his kiss. For one spectacular moment, he'd believed that the feelings he'd carried for so long were somehow, finally, returned. Ashamed of his stupidity, Noah did the only thing he could.

He ran like hell.

* * *

_12. SOCK: FOOT::_

_(A) cap : pen (B) roof : house (C) sleeve : arm (D) peel : banana_

Noah's tenuous concentration was interrupted by the ping of his phone. It was the twelfth time it had sounded in the hour since he'd left school. He had ignored the last eleven messages.

The first read simply _I'm sorry_.

Luke Snyder was apologizing to _him_. Noah had clearly given away his feelings, and Luke wasn't angry at him. No, it was so much worse; he _pitied_ Noah.

Why couldn't the ground swallow up Noah before he had to go back to school tomorrow? He couldn't imagine walking into homeroom and facing Luke. With Noah's dad out of town, he could get away with skipping, but his precarious GPA couldn't weather missing a whole day of classes.

Still, feigning illness could have its merits. Maybe he could tell Luke he'd gotten nauseous to explain his hasty retreat. He could pretend like nothing had happened between them. After all, nothing had happened for Luke, anyway.

But as much as Noah wanted to fake his way out of the situation, he knew it wouldn't work. Luke wasn't stupid. He couldn't have failed to miss how Noah leaned into their kiss, and pulled Luke's body closer.

The one thing Noah was grateful for was his dad's absence. The colonel had flown across the country to lead a training seminar at an Army base, trusting eighteen-year-old Noah to stay home alone. With his father gone, at least Noah was spared from pretending his day had been just fine.

Realizing his mind had wandered yet again to exactly what he wanted forget, he slammed the textbook closed in exasperation. He already struggled with his schoolwork before today's disaster. Now, his concentration was totally shot.

Instead of the test problems he should've been focusing on, Noah's mind filled with images of all his dreams disintegrating. No Northwestern, no future, and worst of all, no Luke. With equal parts frustration and despair, Noah swore at the despicable book, then forcefully flung Barron's 26th Edition SAT study guide across the room.

Where it sailed through the doorway, meeting head-on with an unlucky and unprepared Luke Snyder.

* * *

"Noah, I told you I'm okay," Luke insisted again as he sat next to Noah on the end of the bed, an ice pack pressed to his forehead. "Twenty-three times, I think."

The humored quirk of Luke's mouth seemed to back up his statement, but Noah still felt awful. Well, _more_ awful - something he wouldn't have thought possible ten minutes ago. This latest debacle was just the snot icing on the shit cake of his day.

"If I'd heard you coming in..."

"NOAH. Stop. Your apologies are giving me a bigger headache than your textbook did."

"Oh God, I'm so-"

Before Noah could complete his twenty-fourth apology, Luke abruptly dropped the ice pack, grabbed Noah by the front of his shirt, and tackled him to the mattress. Every muscle in Noah's body immediately froze as his mind was suspended in confusion and excitement and terror. Atop him, Luke lowered his face to within an inch of Noah's, speeding the brunette's heart rate even more.

"If you say you're sorry one more time, I'm going to have to take very. Drastic. Measures."

Noah's senses were electrified by the contact with Luke. The feel of Luke's weight on his body, Luke's breath on his lips, and Luke's warm, intense eyes gazing into his own made Noah want so badly, he would risk humiliation all over again. If this was a joke, he'd let Luke play it out for as long as possible just to be this close for a few more moments.

"I...," Noah paused, taking a deep breath to build his nerve. "I'm sorry."

Time seemed to stop for a moment as Noah's ice-blue eyes did his best to hold Luke's penetrating stare. After what seemed like hours to Noah, a slow, knowing smile finally crept across Luke's face. "I warned you, Mayer."

This time, there was nothing sweet or tentative about the kiss Luke planted on Noah. Luke's wanton tongue was already pushing inside his mouth before Noah's brain processed the fact that this was really, truly happening to him. He returned the kiss with equal fervor, deciding if this was a one-off for Luke, Noah was damn well going to make the most of it.

After several minutes of impassioned kisses and wandering hands, Noah reluctantly pulled back, climbing out from under Luke to scoot up the bed. He'd never had it happen before, but was pretty sure coming in his jeans wouldn't look very sexy. Disappointment briefly clouded Luke's face, until he correctly read the embarrassment on Noah's.

"Yeah, me too," Luke reassured, joining Noah to sit propped against the headboard. "Plus, I don't want to embarrass myself any more today."

"Embarrass _your_self?" Noah responded incredulously. "You can't even be serious."

Luke shot Noah a disbelieving look. "Come on. You're being cool about it, but you know I made a fool of myself. Lying about having a study date with you. Kissing you in front of everybody without even asking. And then showing up here and just walking through your front door," Luke finished with a grimace.

"It was unlocked," Noah answered, still coming to grips with the idea Luke thought _he_ was the crazy one.

"In my defense, I didn't think you'd answer if I knocked. You ignored all of my texts," Luke broke off, seemingly struck by a sudden thought. "Ohmygod. I sound like Richard!"

"No way," Noah shook his head. "I thought you'd think _I_ was the nutjob. When you kissed me, I thought it was real. I didn't know you were just helping me lose Richard, until you started laughing-"

"I wasn't laughing at you," Luke cut in. "I liked kissing you the first time."

"Yeah, right," Noah replied skeptically. "You called it 'unpleasant'."

"I did not," Luke asserted, before realizing that technically, Noah was right. "I meant the whole thing with Richard - not kissing you. Kissing you was... is..." Luke finished the sentence by proving just how much he liked kissing Noah.

"My dad's out of town 'til next week. You can hang out here as long as you want," Noah blurted out, instantly feeling idiotic. "I mean, if you want to. It's okay if you don't. Either way's good," Noah concluded, cursing his brain for not holding his mouth in check.

"Noah Mayer," Luke said in a scandalized tone. "Are you trying to get me into bed?"

"No... I didn't... I wasn't...," Noah stuttered in embarrassment. At the burst of Luke's laughter, however, Noah caught on. "You gotta stop doing that. I'm too young to die of heart failure."

"I can't help it. You're even cuter when you're flustered." At the roll of Noah's eyes, Luke added, "and sexy. Sexy as hell." As an emboldened Noah leaned in to initiate another kiss, Luke startled him by jumping up off the bed. Walking over to the door, he picked up the textbook projectile from the floor. Returning to sit next to Noah on the bed, he reminded, "We're _supposed_ to be studying."

"I gave up," Noah admitted. "I decided I don't give a damn what sock is to foot, and cap is to pen. I'm too stupid to score high enough to get into Northwestern film school, anyway."

At the defeat in Noah's voice, Luke turned serious. "You are _not_ stupid. Not even close."

"Tell that to my GPA," Noah scoffed. "I'm sorry; I know you're just trying to help."

"I'm going to ignore that apology," Luke quipped. "And Noah, GPA isn't everything. You're one of the smartest people in our class. Especially when you get called on in history and literature. You remember everything about what happened in the War of 18-whatever-the-hell. And you always have great answers when you have to talk about one of the novels we're reading."

"Because those are characters and events, like in a movie," Noah explained. "I don't have to think about that; I can see it in my mind. But stuff like this," Noah tapped the book in Luke's hands. "This 'paint is to paper as cat is to dog' bullshit. What the hell's the point of that?"

Luke lowered his voice as if sharing a secret. "I'm pretty sure it's just to mess with our heads. Is it working?"

"Yes!" Noah chuckled. "It's totally working!" Even though Noah's collegiate future looked bleak, being with Luke dimmed the disappointment. Maybe he'd sulk later, when Luke had gone home, but somehow, he doubted it. His mind would be too busy replaying every sweet sensation of touching Luke - and being touched by Luke.

"Show me what you're studying," Luke persisted. "Maybe I can help."

"Einstein couldn't help," Noah quipped. At Luke's insistence, Noah opened the textbook to the analogy he'd been working on. Luke began to read the problem aloud.

"Sock is to foot, as...," Luke started, dismissing Noah's dubious expression. "Cap is to pen, roof is to house, sleeve is to arm, or peel is to banana. Try to picture all those things in your head."

"I did," Noah answered. "It didn't help."

"Don't just picture the objects themselves. Picture them in action - like a movie," Luke encouraged. "Imagine a cap being put on a pen, and a roof being put on a house, and so on. Which is most like a sock being put on a foot?"

"I don't know," Noah said in dejection, reaching over to retrieve the bottled water on the bedside stand. "I told you I'm dumb."

"Just try. Here, I'll give you an example that would work. 'Sock is to foot, as... condom is to cock.'"

Luke spent the next thirty seconds patting Noah's back as he choked on the water he'd been drinking. Once Noah regained his breath, Luke asked mischievously, "Were you able to picture that?"

"Uh, yeah," Noah admitted, thinking he'd be picturing little else for the foreseeable future. "But I don't think that will help me."

"Just imagine the two pairs... how the action of putting each on is similar," Luke instructed. "Now think of the other things; what looks most like that in your mind?"

Seeing that Luke - even with his adorably twisted sense of humor - genuinely meant to help him, Noah concentrated. Running through each of the pairings in his mind, he ruled out roof/house, since a roof sits atop a house instead of covering it. Cap/pen was trickier, since a cap does cover a portion of a pen. But when imagining sleeve/arm in his mind's eye, Noah thought he'd deduced the answer.

"Sock is to foot, as sleeve is to arm?" he guessed.

"Exactly," Luke proudly confirmed. "See, I knew you were smart. You just look at things differently. That's not a bad thing. It's just part of what makes you special."

"Thanks," Noah said quietly. He was always terrible at taking compliments, but was heartened by Luke's sincerity, and awed by his perception. He seemed to understand how Noah's brain worked better than Noah himself.

Buoyed by the initial success, Noah studied with Luke in earnest for another hour. During that time, Luke was able to translate the questions Noah struggled with into mental images he could easily understand. By the time they closed the textbook, Noah had adopted Luke's techniques to successfully navigate even the difficult problems.

As the gravity of that success struck Noah, he turned his face away from Luke, blinking a few times to keep his composure. While Noah's dad repeatedly insisted he was smart, Noah always assumed his father said it to spare his feelings. No one had ever been able to make Noah _feel_ smart, until now.

"Hey," Luke said softly, placing his palm on Noah's cheek and turning his face to Luke's. "It's okay. You don't have to hide from me."

Noah swallowed, finally meeting Luke's eyes with his own. "This is the first time I ever felt like I'm not stupid," he explained. "Well, maybe not."

"Definitely not," Luke asserted. "Do you think I'm into dumb guys?"

"If you are, I can be dumb again," Noah joked, lightening the mood.

"No you can't, because you never were. But I appreciate the sacrifice," Luke teased back. "Just keep in mind, if really wanna be something for me, 'naked' will work."

Noah's eyes widened at the blatant flirtation, but he rebounded quickly to use Luke's earlier tactic against him. Pinning his tutor beneath him, Noah lowered his face to Luke's ear, whispering a shyly seductive promise. "_That_ can be arranged."


End file.
